This Old Palette

Reflections on the past, present, and future of Chicago's Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Artopolis 2008

Pamela Johnson

This year's Artopolisat the Chicago Merchandise Martwas the biggest ever

with THREE full floors of display.(300,000 square feet ?)

But there really was very little spacefor un-temporary art.

The 12th Floor was filled with "Art Chicago",which is supposed to include the most prestigiousnational and international dealersof contemporary art.(but was really mostly galleries from Chicago)

The 7th Floor was filled with "Next",which was billed as

"170 of the best young galleries from every major international center of art production."

(so if the 12th floor was supposed to be the big leagues,the 7th Floor was AAA)

And the 8th Floor was split -- one side was the"International Antiques Fair" (which had most of thePalette and Chisel stuff) -- and "The Artist Project"which was an indoor, juried street fair -- i.e. theartists represented themselves.

In my humble opinion,the 7th Floor was a vast, unforgiving desert(without a single oasis)while the juried street fairwas at least hit-or-miss.

'Art Chicago' seemed to have fewerlandscape, still-life, and figure paintings than ever before,so all that was really left was the Antiques Fair(plus those "Art Chicago" dealers who were selling historical art)

Unlike Art Chicago,which is apparently a pale shadow of Art Miami,it would be one-of-a-kind in the world.

And... I really doubt very much got sold off that 7th Floor,except perhaps as materials to be recycled.

**********

Not a single, current P&C member could be found anywhere,but at least Pamela Johnson,a recent member,had rented a booth in the "Artist Project" show.(it cost her $1500,but she sold several paintings to a gallery,so it was worth it)

Catherine Maizewas another living (though former)P&C member who appeared at the show,and her gallery was part of "Art Chicago" up on the 12th floor.

Fred Mulhaupt

And all the other P&C artists in the showwere dead white men(in the Antiques Fair)

Frank Dudley

L.O. Griffith

(this was the same painting shown last year,but I really like it -- it only costs about $2500and here's a detail.

It's a plein air from Gay's Mill, Wisconsin,home of a delicious apple pie,and a sweet, quiet little floating stream.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Exhibit: Kishio Takeda

self portrait

(note: not that it's as importantas Kishio's wonderful cherry blossoms...but mention must be madeof the quality, quantity, and varietyof appetizers at the opening.If only every P&C exhibit were this ...this...appetizing)

Pamela Michelle Johnson attended California Polytechnic State University is San Luis Obispo, California, and graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an art minor with honors. After graduation, she continued to pursue ceramics, painting and figure drawing independently while working for four years as an engineer in the construction industry. In 2003, she was awarded an artist in residency at The Institute of Ceramic Studies at Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Shigaraki, Japan. This experience was influential in her development as an artist and decisions regarding her career path.

Shortly after her return from Japan, Johnson decided to seek new direction in her life and to focus on art as a career. She uprooted from her native California, left her career in engineering, and made a new home in Chicago. There she found a thriving emerging artist culture that provided her with opportunities to continue to develop her own work within a community of other working artists.She became a member at the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art to work on her figure drawing in open workshops, and began exhibiting her work in galleries and art festivals. Her body of work continues to evolve through her more recent American Still-Life and Houses series.

... and here's one of the drawings fromone of our workshops.

(the model here was Candace,and since the view is so close-up,I'll bet it was done in myMonday night workshop in thesmall 2nd floor studio)

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Ezra Winter Wins the Prix de Rome

Ezra Augustus Winter 1886-1949

Chicago Evening Post (1910)

CHICAGO MAN WINNER OF ROMEART PRIZE

Ezra Winter's painting, "The Arts"Ranked first among works of many American Artists.

Award brings him $3000 - contested for by more than 200 students and artists representing most of the American and Foreign schools. The winner will receive his award at the rate of $1000/year and will live at the American Academy in Rome during the period.

Kenyon Cox and S.D.Millet were members of the committee which made the award.In the contest a year ago, Mr. Winter was given second place.

Last year's winner, a young man named Wolff of Philadelphia was murdered in Rome a few months after he arrived. For several months he was reported as lost, and then after several weeks the body was found in the Tiber.

The final contest this year was held at the Art Institute. It lasted about twelve weeks. The contestants all sent in drawings and paintings. Then a select few were required to draw and paint certain things within a limited time. Finally, a still smaller number were asked to make schemes for a painting. The final test was the completion of the scheme.

"Ezra Winter came to us from a small farm near Traverse City Michigan. He studied at the Academy about two years and then began to work as an illustrator. There had never before been a winner who had so little art training. Some of the contestants had been in various schools for as long as twelve years"

(and he was also a member of the Palette and Chisel)

Which began a career in public artthat included murals in the Library of Congress